Rules of Court · Part 1 · New Jersey
R. 1:13-2 New Jersey Rules of Court, R. 1:13-2: Proceedings by Indigents, rendered as code with every cross-reference linked
Proceedings by Indigents
“Court filing and copy fees might be waived for litigants who Have income at or below 150 percent of the current poverty level (based on the number of people in the household; AND Have no more than $2,500 in liquid assets such as cash or bank accounts.”
NJ Courts, Court Fees and Fee Waivers
“If you win more than $2,000 in your court case, you will be required to pay back the filing fee for your case.”
NJ Courts, Court Fees and Fee Waivers
“The public usually has the right to view fee waiver applications that have been filed with the court.”
NJ Courts, Court Fees and Fee Waivers
“The court does not charge a filing fee for litigants who can prove that their income is no more than 150% of the current poverty level and that they have no more than $2,500 in cash and bank accounts.”
NJ Courts, Lawsuits $20,000 or less (Special Civil): Glossary, Fee waiver
In the Judiciary’s words, not ours: these are the sentences from njcourts.gov self-help that describe what this rule does. The rule itself is under Code; the two are not the same document.
rule 1:13-2 "Proceedings by Indigents" {
(a) Waiver of Fees. Except when otherwise specifically provided by these rules, whenever any person by reason of poverty seeks relief from the payment of any fees provided for by law which are payable to any court or clerk of court including the office of the surrogate or any public officer of this State, any court upon the verified application of such person, which application may be filed without fee, may in its discretion order the payment of such fees waived. In any case in which a person is represented by a legal services or public interest organization or law school clinical or pro bono program approved under R. 1:21-11(b)(2), private counsel representing indigents in cooperation with any of the preceding entities, the Office of the Public Defender, or counsel assigned in accordance with these rules, all such fees and any charges of public officers of this State for service of process shall be waived without the necessity of a court order.
(b) Compensation of Attorneys. Except as provided by any order of the court, no attorney assigned to represent a person by reason of poverty shall take or agree to take or seek to obtain from the client, payment of any fee, profit or reward for the conduct of such proceedings for office or other expenses; but no attorney shall be required to expend any personal funds in the prosecution of the cause.
Note: Source-R.R. 1:27E, 4:98-2(c). Paragraph (a) amended and paragraph (b) adopted July 7, 1971 to be effective September 13, 1971; paragraph (a) amended July 29, 1977 to be effective September 6, 1977; amended May 3, 1982 to be effective immediately; paragraph (a) amended July 22, 1983 to be effective September 12, 1983; paragraph (b) amended July 13, 1994 to be effective September 1, 1994; paragraph (a) amended July 22, 2014 to be effective January 1, 2015.
}
referenced_by: 1:21-11, 1:40-3, 1:40-4, 2:7-1
source: njcourts.gov // verbatim; changed 2025-09-23; corpus harvested 2026-09-02← R. 1:13-1 · R. 1:13-3 → · chapter 1:13 · all rules
The Rules of Court are a government edict and carry no copyright; the text above is the Judiciary’s own publication, unchanged. Structure, links and highlighting are ours and carry no legal weight. Read the rule on njcourts.gov before you rely on it; amendments take effect each September 1.